The Cecil Whig., 1887-07-16
LOVE ON A TOBOGGAN.

Il tell you young man, you shall not
marry my niece"
and tell you madam, will-if
cam
she is engaged to my son, Tom"
She is engaged to me, and l don't
care snap of my fingers for your son
Tom
"Sil, your language is ugentlemanly. !"
Madam, SO is yours
We were both at white heat, Mrs.
Jupp, the aunt, the legal guardian of my
adored Julia, positively trembled with
rage, and looked around the room as if
in search of some weapon with which to
attack me. She was large and stout, had
a deep bass voice, and hideous wiry curls,
and wore glasses of such an intense mag
nifying power that she seemed to be glar-
ing at one like hungry Gorgon, (by the
way, what is Gorgon?) and could drive
men away from the vicinity of her niece
my dear lullaby simply favoring
them with a stony stare as fixed and aw-
full as that of the Sphinx.
Leave my house, Sir she said at
last, rising and pointing to the door, with
very fine dramatic action. Anger is
more becoming to a large, stout woman
than to small one-unless she gets red
in the face.
Il will nes 90 until you give me some
better reasons for the stand you take in
this Natter
Il have told you once-she is engaged
to my son."
81 don't believe it," | said boldly,
though perhaps rudely; but my lovely
Julia was reflected IN distant mirror,
smiling at me and shaking her head, and
| was reckless Mrs Jupp gasped, and
if magnitied glance from her glaring
eyes could have killed me, l would have
| died on the spot.
"Mr. Edgerton, if my son were here
"Confound your s0un' said |. really
used a much stronger expression, forget
| ting for a moment where | was.
| am not quite certain what hit me,
| but think it was footstool, as | after
wards found gilded claw-in my coat
| pocket. A man servant, whom | had
often fed in other days, picked me up
and escorted me to the door murmuring
sympathetically the while, that ''to be
sure, Mrs. Jupp was leetle uncertain at
times Uncertain. There is nothing un-
certain about her. | am small man,
and tremendous bump on my forehead
is conspicuous; nor is one black eye be-
coming to any one, SO l skunk down the
street like criminal vowing vengeance
on the old tyrart in petticoats, who only
| wanted Julia to marry her son in order
to keep the money III the family, fof
Julia was quite an heiress, though of
course the fact had no weight with me.
Business of some kind had brought
Mrs. Jupp to St. Paul, and there she took
a house and established herself with her
lovely niece for the winter. In the first
stages of my acquaintance was of much
service to the old lady, and ran about
aud did her crrands for her like a born
idiot. | also had every opportunity OF
falling in love with her Eiece, and this
did as rapidly as possible and with such
success that in two months from their ar
rival | announced our engagement to tie
| aunt, with the above described result,
| though it must be understood that have
only given the termination of my negoti-
ations-the preliminaries being tame and
uninter1 sting. The next day spent in
my room trying experiments with raw
beef as applied to black eye, aud nurs
ing various schemes of vengeance, and
the lump on my forehead at the same
time
The day following | ventured down tc
my office, and from there sent an impas
sionate note to my darling Julia, note
filled with despair, vows of eternal love
and appropriate quotations. My note was
returned by the grinning office boy, who
said the old lady had opened it in hi;
presence, read it aloud, and told him tC
take it back to that little fool-meanine
me-and added that she would box his
said oy's-ears if he ever brought an
other. | discharged the boy on the spot
and told him he was an idle, good for
nothing vagabond. During the day ;
friend called in, and after some stupic
drivel which almost drove me crazy, said
apropos of nothing: "By the way callet
on the Jupps last night. Old lady say'
they leave here on Saturday and are going
straight to Europe. Didn't see the fai